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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23429020">Fight or Flight</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucasdias960/pseuds/lucasdias960'>lucasdias960</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>House M.D.</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 10:34:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,103</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23429020</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucasdias960/pseuds/lucasdias960</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Chase sees himself going nowhere with a job that requires hours of mind-numbing tasks and a boss who hates him. Sometimes it just makes more sense to run away.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Robert Chase/Greg House</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>38</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Fight or Flight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Part I</p>
<p>Chase didn't know how long it's been since his job's only safeguard packed up his millions of dollars and indignantly marched out of their lives forever. He also wasn't sure how long he's been scrolling through databases of conditions that can cause increased sensitivity to light, another menial task in his respective circle of hell. Judging by how blurry the words on the screen were getting, though, his ballpark estimate was somewhere around four hours.</p>
<p>Come to think of it, Chase was pretty much left completely in the dark about everything. He didn't know what happened on House's date with Cameron, but his brain (bored with all the scrolling) had certainly thought of some elaborate scenarios. When he wasn't being paranoid about Cameron, he would mull over why House hadn't fired him yet, or immediately, for that matter.</p>
<p>Once the drinking and being merry about Volger's absence had faded out and Cuddy had finished off a good amount of their alcohol, Chase stayed around. He was the last to leave House's office, holding his breath, expecting to be fired.</p>
<p>House was turned away from him, looking out the window at the empty street below them. He was thinking about what Cuddy said when she came in to rain on their parade. When he turned around to see Chase still sitting there quietly long after Wilson and Foreman excused themselves, he could only sigh and roll his eyes.</p>
<p>Chase looked up at him, making every attempt to not seem completely pathetic. "Aren't you going to fire me?" He asked, and immediately wished he'd said it differently. That was just begging to be fired.</p>
<p>House turned back toward the window, making Chase feel like he wasn't even worth facing when spoken to. He said, "I'm too drunk to fire you. Ask me again tomorrow morning when I've sobered up."</p>
<p>That was weeks ago. As Chase's eyes scanned over the beginning of a new letter of whatever conditions he was supposed to be looking out for, he pinpointed that moment as the only time that ever was or that ever will be in which he had the license to tell House everything. He blew it. He walked out of that office without saying another word, content with being employed for one more night.</p>
<p>The morning following House's triumphant victory over Volger, Chase still wasn't fired. He was being treated like crap, given mind-numbing work and driven to the brink of insanity, but he wasn't fired. That's when he began forming theories.</p>
<p>There were many theories with many variations, but two seemed to form the basis of them all.</p>
<p>His first theory was his favorite as first theories often are since they are based in denial, and denial is such a favorable coping mechanism. Because of this and the fact that House was an exceptionally perceptive man, Chase convinced himself that he knew. House must know all about why Chase did what he did, how he did it, who he did it for and every last morsel of motivation that went into it. This was his favorite theory because it was the only one that meant he didn't have to explain himself.</p>
<p>The night House told him he was too drunk to fire him, Chase just walked out of the office as if there weren't a million things he needed to say. He went into their conference room, grabbed his jacket, his bag and shut the lights off on his way out. He only spared House a quick glance as he walked by the glass wall of his office despite the fact that every nerve in his brain was screaming at him to not let this wound heal over the bullet.</p>
<p>Weeks later: a new alphabet was scrolling past his eyeballs, Wilson was talking to House like firing Chase is the equivalent of putting a dog out of its misery, and to top it all off Cameron was back and more likable than ever. The wound had officially healed with the bullet tucked safely inside.</p>
<p>Chase's head dropped onto the desk, cushioned by his arm. He shut his eyes, the glow of the computer screen still engraved in his vision. The second main theory was by far the less favorable: House took Chase's betrayal at face value and is now torturing him for his own sick amusement, only to fire him when he gets bored. That theory was beginning to seem more and more likely with each passing day.</p>
<p>The day he started forming theories, Chase made a deal with himself. For each day that the issue stayed unresolved, each time he felt hopeless, miserable and sick, he would add one part to his letter of resignation. When the whole thing was written, that would be his sign that he needed to leave. On this day, with his face pressed against the cold desk he's been sitting at for hours, in this dark little room that he would just suffocate in if anyone else were to come in and share his oxygen, he knew it was time to finish that letter.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Part II</p>
<p>Chase walked purposefully to House's office, letter of resignation in hand, dark bags under his eyes, no color in his face. Foreman and Cameron were on their way out, and he passed them, arousing as little suspicion as possible. Foreman hated him the most at first, but he seemed to have gotten over it. He was nicer with each passing day so there were no sections in Chase's letter of resignation dedicated to him. Cameron's return, on the other hand, marked everything he's done as totally futile and proved to be the defining factor in the pressing of the "print" button.</p>
<p>House was sitting in his chair, settling in for a General Hospital marathon, when Chase barged in, slammed a piece of paper onto his desk and triumphantly announced, "I quit."</p>
<p>"You can't quit. I fire you!" House retorted with all the soap opera drama training he's had.</p>
<p>Chase watched him for a moment, unsure of what to make of that. He opened his mouth to speak and closed it immediately at a lack of words. "OK," he said cautiously, "whatever. I think."</p>
<p>House's eyes trailed off to the side toward the television.</p>
<p>"Look," Chase said, trying to bring the topic back on track, "I don't know if this is what you were going for, if you wanted to make me quit for whatever reason, but it hurts my brain to think about it, and I just don't care enough about whatever lesson you were trying to teach me to make that sacrifice."</p>
<p>"Quitter," House sneered.</p>
<p>"That would be the point, yes."</p>
<p>House looked up at him, annoyed, and let out an aggravated sigh. "You see, there really is no point in you being a traitor to begin with if you then quit your job. That makes everything one, big, futile circle of... futility."</p>
<p>Oh no, it's the second theory. Chase scoffed and looked away from him, onto some random, very intriguing part of the wall. His hands were stuffed into his pockets. "That's not why," he managed to say, shaking his head.</p>
<p>"Oh?" House said with feigned interest. He stood up to pace around the room. As inconvenient as that was with the cane and all, he still liked to do it. For effect. "So the weasel act you pulled on me had a deep, noble cause: nothing to do with you making deals and manipulating to keep your job."</p>
<p>"It has nothing to do with the job," Chase said quietly, cautiously, not sure how far he wanted to go with this.</p>
<p>House tilted his head to the side and limped closer to him. "Then what was it, Dr. Chase? What was your honorable cause?"</p>
<p>Chase didn't say anything. His eyes trailed away from the wall, onto the floor.</p>
<p>"Did you think that Cameron and Foreman would lead happier, more fulfilling lives if they lost their jobs?" House pressed on, leaning closer. "Did you want Cameron to have a nicer boss? Did you think Foreman's abilities were being wasted here?"</p>
<p>"Oh stop it," Chase cut him off, "you'd never fire Foreman."</p>
<p>And silence.</p>
<p>House pulled back as if trying to, literally, see the big picture. Meanwhile, tiny indiscrete sectors of Chase's brain were setting themselves into panic mode.</p>
<p>"You did this because you thought I'd fire Cameron. Now that she's back, you're quitting." House spoke almost mechanically.</p>
<p>For some reason, Chase thought that this is what being burned at the stake must feel like. He laughed dismissively and began his escape out of the room. "Well, you can now officially consider this over," he said as he approached the door, and added on his way out, "It's been fun."</p>
<p>House stood in his office, barraging himself for having this puzzle solved for him before he even knew of the clues. He grabbed his telephone and dialed Wilson's extension.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Part III</p>
<p>Chase was in such a hurry to escape the hospital that he left almost all of his personal belongings behind. In fact, he was halfway home before he realized he was still wearing his lab coat. That night, he thought of every possible way to get his things back without running into House. He considered calling Foreman and asking him for a favor, but then there would be questions.</p>
<p>Chase then thought about calling Wilson. That would eliminate the questions because he was sure Wilson already knew everything before he even reached the first stop light. But Wilson wasn't on his side, and that was another unpleasant conversation he'd rather avoid.</p>
<p>It was a depressing realization that Chase couldn’t think of a single person to call for a simple favor who wouldn’t look at him like a criminal. The best way to go about this, he decided, was to go to the hospital very early the next morning. House would never be at work earlier than absolutely necessary.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Part IV</p>
<p>So, the next morning, Chase found himself stealthily making his way through the hospital hallways to the conference room where he left his bag. Even though there were many doctors and nurses finishing up this unfavorable shift, he still felt like everything was empty and slow.</p>
<p>Chase didn't let himself linger near House's office too long. He grabbed his bag and looked around for his jacket. It took him a few moments of suspicion that House stole it to make him talk to him again before he remembered that he left it in the doctor's lounge.</p>
<p>He opened the door to the lounge cautiously. There was no one there. He stepped inside and looked around. The television was turned off, creating an eerie atmosphere of silence. The window was open, and the occasional car passing by sounded vague and far away like the sound of a seashell held to the ear. It made him feel uneasy, and he immediately went to the window to close it shut.</p>
<p>Inside his skin, Chase jumped about ten feet when he heard a familiar, "Good morning, Dr. Chase" from behind him. He didn't turn around; instead, he let his forehead bang against the closed window.</p>
<p>"Don't worry, I have no more power over you," House said as he walked further into the room, shutting the door behind himself. "You are officially no longer my employee."</p>
<p>Chase thought about how easy it would've been to just jump out of the window had he not closed it a moment ago. Instead, he pulled away from it and briskly made his way to the door. "Fantastic," he said as he passed House, not sparing him a glance.</p>
<p>As his hand reached for the knob, House smugly said, "Your jacket, Dr. Chase."</p>
<p>Chase stopped, cringed, turned around, walked back by House, grabbed his jacket and almost walked right into House on his way back to the door. This was going to be a mind game; he could already feel it, and he didn't want to play.</p>
<p>House's eyebrows were raised. "Lust and envy," he said thoughtfully. "Two deadly sins in one neat package."</p>
<p>"Wrath and sloth," Chase reminded him with his best smart-ass tone.</p>
<p>"Greed."</p>
<p>"Pride."</p>
<p>"My point exactly," House said with great importance.</p>
<p>Chase was standing in front of him, jacket in one hand and bag in the other, looking completely miserable. He didn't want to know what that meant. "Can I go now?"</p>
<p>"Nope," House said, perching his cane up on the chair next to him, making it impossible for Chase to escape unless he wanted to limbo out. "Did you really think I'd believe you?" He demanded.</p>
<p>Chase didn't know what to make of that. It didn't make a difference if he believed him or not anyway. Thanks to that letter of resignation, they no longer had to deal with each other, so they could each believe whatever truth they liked the best.</p>
<p>"You were sick of doing crappy jobs so you thought you'd psych me out," House went on. "Play on my favorite deadly sin like I'd go easy on you if you were nice to my ego."</p>
<p>Chase couldn't believe his luck, and he suddenly felt a sense of relief that House thought it was all just some sort of elaborate ploy. "Got me," he said.</p>
<p>"Thought I wouldn't let you quit if you just acted pathetic enough."</p>
<p>"You figured it out. Congratulations," Chase said and stepped up, waiting for House to drop the cane.</p>
<p>House let out a laborious sigh and dropped his cane back to the floor, allowing his captive to walk back toward the door.</p>
<p>Chase pulled his jacket on as he made his way out of the room. He was ridiculously happy with this turnout for a total of three and a half seconds, following which came the memory of that night in House's office after Volger left. He remembered thinking that was the only chance he'd ever get to tell House everything. Now he was presented with another chance, a chance he got by complete accident. Fight or flight.</p>
<p>Chase let his hand fall from the doorknob and turned back around, bravely, to face his opponent. "I have no more reason to lie, right?"</p>
<p>House was leaning on his cane, looking very interested in the whole thing. "Right," he said decisively.</p>
<p>"Now that I'm fired..."</p>
<p>"You quit."</p>
<p>"Now that I quit," Chase corrected, "I have no possible motive whatsoever to manipulate you."</p>
<p>"Couldn't if you tried."</p>
<p>"So there is no reason for you to not believe what I tell you now."</p>
<p>House rolled his eyes. This was getting so drawn-out, like a movie that just couldn't end. "Whatever," he said because all he wanted was to speed this process up. Chase's reasoning was wrong, he thought. People lie for no reason at all sometimes. It's an inherent part of the psyche, he thought, but he wasn't about to go into all that. It would prolong the whole thing, and he just wanted his resolution.</p>
<p>Chase wasn't happy with that answer, but it suddenly occurred to him that it didn't so much matter if House believed him or not. "What I said in your office yesterday was all true."</p>
<p>House scrunched his eyebrows. "You didn't say anything in my office yesterday."</p>
<p>"I mean the assertion you gathered from what I..."</p>
<p>"Oh, just say it."</p>
<p>Chase looked down for a moment, gathered himself and said, "This isn't a justification for my actions. Rather I did it to keep my job or to get Cameron fired doesn't make any difference to anyone but me.”</p>
<p>“Well, I’m actually rather curious,” House said matter-of-factly.</p>
<p>“You make everything so complicated,” Chase said, walking back toward him. He vaguely wondered how many roundtrips he’s made through this lounge that morning.</p>
<p>House was about to say something caustic in his defense, but he decided to save it for the end of the speech.</p>
<p>“You preach how the simplest answer is often the right one, but you always take the most complicated path possible.” They were now standing face-to-face, and House had fleeting thoughts of sarcastic responses. “It’s not this complicated,” Chase said and calmly kissed him in the most straightforward way possible.</p>
<p>There was a brief moment of silence after Chase pulled away. “Simple,” he said by means of concluding his rant. With that, he made a final determined attempt at leaving the room.</p>
<p>“Before you go,” House said, seemingly not phased by the course of events, “I need a professional opinion on a medical miracle.”</p>
<p>Chase suddenly felt fatigued. This was going to be something. There was no way that this was just going to be nothing. He turned his head to the side, reluctant to tear his attention completely away from the door for the infinite time that morning. “And what would that be?”</p>
<p>House took a minute to seat himself comfortably in a recliner and replied, “Your letter of resignation seems to have magically grown legs over the course of the night and escaped out of the hospital completely unnoticed by nighttime security. The PD says not to hold out much hope.”</p>
<p>Chase hung his head and quietly laughed off the stress. “Why?” He had to know.</p>
<p>“You’re a good doctor,” House said seriously and added, “and I hate interviews.” He thought for a moment and added again, “And you don’t deserve to deprive me of my revenge.”</p>
<p>“So it had nothing to do with this?”</p>
<p>“Nope.” House perched his legs up on the table next to him. “This was just entertaining.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Part V</p>
<p>On his way down the hall, Chase tried to quiet the frustration he felt. How did it turn out like this? The entire ordeal was just an exercise, just another list of mind-numbing search results to scroll through, another trip around the hamster-wheel. In the end, it was worth nothing, and all he gained was another tally mark on his insanity chart.</p>
<p>Was House even allowed to do this? Just disregard a letter of resignation? That was a silly question to contemplate, and Chase knew that. He suddenly wondered if House disregarded stop signs on streets as well.</p>
<p>Looking around at the increasingly more crowded hospital lobby, Chase suddenly felt relief. Even though all this had seemingly brought him around full-circle, tiny changes happened along the way. He wasn’t sure of what those changes were exactly, rather they were within himself only or in House, or even the hospital itself. The only reason he was convinced they even took place was simply because he suddenly found himself no longer resenting Cameron’s return to work. That must’ve meant something.<br/>feeling: coldcold</p>
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